The pursuit of a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease has long focused on clearing clumps of a protein called beta amyloid that build up in the brain of those with the mind-robbing condition.

But the failure of Eli Lilly & Co.’s experimental amyloid buster is the latest indication that targeting amyloid is far from straightforward. Other treatments that target these so-called plaques have proven disappointing.

Lilly said...

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A drug developed by Eli Lilly to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease symptoms failed a closely watched clinical trial. WSJ's Jeanne Whalen explains the impact of the failure on Eli Lilly stock and the rest of the pharmaceutical sector, which had rested its hopes on the success of the drug. Photo: Kris Tripplaar/Sipa USA